Double-Edged Sword
by SwordintheDarkness
Summary: Shafe's fiance, Lena, goes undercover in Charlie's world in order to bring him down. Will she succeed or will Charlie catch her in his web ? [Co-written by the lovely Taylor]
1. Going Under

Lena was nervous, but not as nervous as she ought to have been. She agreed to Hodiak's plan, against Brian's frequent urging to deny him. She was going to infiltrate the Manson House and feed information to Hodiak until they had enough to shut it all down. She wasn't a cop, not officially. She hadn't finished the academy. She met Brian there, he went on to become a detective and she had fallen into research analysis for a different branch of the beat. They lived together now, of course, and spoke often of their wedding day but there was no rush. They wanted to wait for a promotion to hit Shafe before they planned any great wedding (although Lena already had her bridesmaid's dresses picked out). But for now, she was being briefed on the _goings-on_ of the Manson house, being given a new identity (Lena Blaine was becoming Blair Beaumont), clothes, and the like and she would be dropped into Charlie's life through one of his easily manipulated girls with a story that would open Charlie up to her. "Ah-" Lena held her finger up to her fiancée's perfect lips, "If you ask me _am I sure_ one more time, I swear, baby..." she shook her head before leaning up to replace her slender finger with her lips, "I should do this. We know he likely killed your friend and he's roping barely legal girls into a harem and..." she opted to not talk about the rest of the mess she was about to throw herself into.

Brian was _not_ secure on this mission whatsoever. He didn't trust Hodiak as far as he could throw him, not with this personal vendetta against Manson to catch him and make him pay for all the pain he'd caused. Which was fine, that was their job but it wasn't part of the job to throw yourself into something potentially-most-certainly life threatening without any thought to oneself. So needless to say, throwing his fiancée into the line of fire wasn't something that he was too keen on doing and it left him endlessly bitter with Hodiak for doing it. "I'm not going to stop asking you because I'm not sure of this and I don't want you to do it. Even if you're hell-bent on doing it anyway, I'm still going to voice my concerns." He told her easily, his voice never left its concern filled state. Sighing at the state of rush she seemed to be in; Brian shook his head and rubbed his hands over it as he began to pace the room. "We can keep going over this but I don't like it. Undercover? And for Hodiak? He cares as much about the people he works with as he does about the perps you're hunting down. He just wants another notch on his belt and you're a casualty in that matter. He doesn't have your back, not like you would need him to if things went awry. And how am I supposed to be okay with that? You just walking out the door like nothing bad is going to happen when you and I both know what this Manson asshole is capable of."

She'd been chatting up Charlie's girl for some weeks now and the girl was picking her up from the street corner soon. They didn't have much time left together. "I'm going to miss you..." she said, sadly slipping her engagement ring from her finger and slipping it on to a chain around his neck, "Take care of it." She knew his concerns were valid, she couldn't knock them. She loved Brian with her heart and soul. But having left the force left a little hole in her that craved adventure, to help close cases like she always thought she would. And if Manson continued he could decide to take on the whole police task force and that put her dear Brian in danger and she wouldn't have that. "I know you're worried," she said understandingly, touching his face again, "But someone's gotta do it and he's never seen me before," she said, dropping her hand to his waist, linking one finger into his belt loop to pull him closer. "It's gonna be hard for me too. I'll miss you," she said honestly. She had days she would report back in to the real world and she would get to see him then but they would be few and far between and they wouldn't be too long. "Hodiak wants to see Manson stopped and so do we, baby. He'll watch me, and you know the code word, if I need to be pulled out or if my cover's blown..." she said, her free hand touching his hair gently. "I have to do this, Brian," she said surely. "And look, we only have a few more minutes before I'm supposed to meet Sadie, can we just _be here_?" she asked, leaning up to kiss him again.

Well just as protective she was over him, he was over her and he had a reason to be concerned with Mason's penchant for torturing the women he manipulated into his harem. There wasn't much he could do from the outside without blowing her cover and that would only put her in more danger. Closing his eyes at her affections though his face remained solemn, Brian nodded his head and touched their foreheads together when she kissed him. They remained still as such until she had to meet Sadie which had the knots turning forevermore in his stomach. It wouldn't be too long until Charlie's girl introduced them and he would undoubtedly be lured by Lena's presence-or Blair rather. He forgot she was _Blair Beaumont_ now. The name sat like rust on his tongue. He preferred Lena. Lena Shafe. The idea of her being his wife is the only thing that kept him going at a time like this. He hoped Hodiak was happy because he sure as fuck wasn't and didn't plan to be until Manson was dead or incarcerated and FAR FAR away from Lena. If Lena even wanted him anymore after this...Manson was powerful. No one knew how powerful he was. And they wouldn't know until it was too late.

"I love you," Lena said longingly. She leaned up to kiss him one last good time as another man came into the room to tell them they were ready for her. They had to drop her in an unmarked car by an unmarked man and they couldn't risk having Sadie get a look at Shafe. "I love you," she repeated when she leaned down, unable to think of anything else to tell him. Nothing else mattered but that. She then brought her engagement ring from the chain around his neck to her lips and kissed it to, "Take good care of it. I'll need it when I get back," she said and she had to pull away from him, which was harder than she expected. Hodiak was optimistic about a four-week operation from start to incarceration but her plug was pulled at the end of two. She had eight weeks to infiltrate and get enough evidence back to Hodiak to put Charlie away for good. She found her stomach in knots over leaving Brian as she was driven to her drop off point. Then, left with only a _very_ small bag of things she waited in the agreed upon spot until Sadie arrived.

"It's so good to see you, finally," Sadie threw her arms around Lena like they were old friends, "Everyone's so excited to meet you. You're going to love it at Charlie's. It's perfect for you. We're all one big family and Charlie really looks out for us," Sadie kept her arm around Lena's waist as she led her away, "Oh you'll just love it!" Sadie cooed, Lena wasn't so sure. But she wasn't allowed to be Lena anymore. She was Blair and she was going to love it, "Take me to Charlie," She smirked, playing into the girls excitement, allowing herself to be toted along.


	2. Before You Know It

Charlie, being the owner of a very particular cult-like following and harem, was a paranoid man with charisma but a weak point for rage and paranoia. He was suspicious of everyone, even his most loyal followers. In fact, he was more suspicious of them then he was anyone else. He figured the most loyal one's had the easiest edge to try and play him to their advantage and Charlie did **not** like being played. Lena-or Blair, was playing a dangerous game. Hodiak left that part out. He left a lot of shit out just to get someone to agree to this nightmare. Which is why Brian was so nervous. But Lena only saw the end of the game before all of the other shit that would unfold. She wasn't thinking about the middle. She was thinking about the end before she even got there. Brian had the insight to know this wasn't going to be over quickly, and it most likely wouldn't end well. But Charlie was always wanting to make new people join him; Sadie had told him about this beautiful Blair woman she'd met and how she'd be perfect for the House. Of course; Charlie's most charismatic charm was on this evening for Blair's arrival. He would remain like that until he had her where he wanted her, like most sociopaths do. But for now he would seem much different from the man Hodiak described and that would be extremely conflicting for Blair. "Well, who do we have here ?" Charlie beamed, coming down the steps in jeans and no shirt-and barefooted. He was a handsome man with a full beard and shaggy hair. " _This is Blair._ " Sadie beamed, putting two hands on the woman's shoulders to show her off to Charlie who approved with a gleam in his brown eyes. "Welcome, Blair." He took her hand to kiss it, "Get her a drink, Sadie. She looks like she needs one. Something stiff!"

When Charlie appeared, Lena became Blair and she had to lock Brian away in her mind. She smiled at their leader. She could feel his charisma and understood why women would be drawn to him, "Quite a welcome," Blair smiled," Thank-you. Sadie's told me so much about you. It's really nice of you to take me in," she said, having little clue what the man in front of her was capable of – or what he thought about her. She felt out of place but she had to remind herself to lose those thoughts. "Your house is beautiful," she complimented. People adorned every room but they all seemed taken with the shirtless man in front of her. He was like the epitome of hippie. She could smell pot, that was for sure. "I just hope that I'm not too much trouble," She said. She realized she had no idea how this house worked. What were the expectations of her? She glanced back at Sadie who was beaming. Maybe she could just hang with Sadie until Charlie did something incriminating and she could get back to Hodiak. The days until she could see Brian again already felt so long and yet her eyes drifted back to Charlie as if she couldn't help it.

Looking around the house with a firm nod and a little smile; Charlie returned his gaze to her and shook his head harshly when she said she hoped she wouldn't be too much trouble, "Only trouble I see you causin' is bein' the most beautiful woman here." He said with a smirk, taking her drink and handing it to her when Sadie bought it back. The others took her bags upstairs to her room, what little she had and left Charlie to doing the introductions. "So I don't know much about you-tell me everything." He laughed, showing her into his office where they could talk more intimately and privately. He would rather investigate her on his own. Without the chatter of everyone else around them to distract him from his main focus, which was her at the moment, knowing what made her tick and who she was underneath the beautiful veneer she put out to everyone. "Sadie told me you were perfect for the house, didn't go into too much detail..." He explained further, putting his feet up on his desk and lighting up his bowl, which he offered her politely.

Lena hadn't done much smoking since school but she figured there was no reason to turn it down. "It's a rather tired tale, I'm afraid," she told him. She took a hit and handed it back to him, cradling the drink in her hands, "Thought he was everything, ended up giving me this," she lifted her shirt. Just below her bra was a nice bright, purple bruise. It was actually from when Hodiak was giving her some pointers on defending herself but Charlie didn't have to know that, "and after a few trips to the hospital I ended up meeting Sadie and she told me about how you all support each other. She told me she left a similar situation and...I took a leap," she shifted in her seat, getting comfortable, "Scariest thing I've ever done but..." she took a sip of the drink and held it up to him, "Seems to be okay,' she felt rather relaxed after her small hit, "You have quite the house, there must be so many more interesting stories here than mine," she said. "Sadie couldn't stop singing your praises, Charlie. I can't wait to get to know you..." she admitted as a shy girl would.

Charlie knew there were things she was holding back. He wasn't a stupid man. He spent most of his time observing others so when it came down to lies and secrets-he was the King of knowledge because he had so many of his own. "I don't know about that. Beautiful woman with such exotic features is bound to be an interesting one." He said knowingly, putting his hands behind his head and watching her with a hawk's observance. He was intelligent, perhaps too intelligent for his own good. Too inflated to see mistakes when he made them, because he was so involved in himself that he only noticed himself. He was ever conscious of his own world, his own surroundings. "Scary can be exhilarating." He remarked, standing up from his chair and moving around to sit on the desk in front of her. "We don't have rules here, Blair. But there is one-unspoken rule that I just expect everyone to know and follow. We're family in this house. We don't lie, we don't keep secrets..." His eyes were black then, serious, suspicious and paranoid even. "And as long as you remember that then we'll all be happy." He smiled after that, as if he were just a different man for a moment.

Blair felt the nerves rise in her chest but when he finished with a smile they were extinguished. He was an interesting guy, she was sure. "That seems fair," she responded, taking the last sip of her drink, "It's a good philosophy to live by," she set her glass aside, watching him, his body so much closer to hers now. "Sadie told me you're all one here," she glanced out the window. The sun was descending towards the horizon. "Charlie," she started, as a curious new member would, "How is it _so many_ people can become one?" she asked. "How is it you get everyone to leave a piece of themselves at the door?" she asked, "They all adore you..." she said in awe. "It's amazing," she said. It truly was. That was true. Blair shifted in her seat again, not realizing that in the month she would likely be in the house - that that month would be filled with hours, minutes, seconds that she had to fill with thoughts and actions and lies and it was incredibly daunting.

"The people that come here come from broken homes. Mother's that didn't want them, or father's. Bad foster homes. Broken relationships with their significant other. Broken lives." He said simply, if not somewhat nostalgically as if he knew what that felt like but most people were smart enough not to pry. Swinging around on his chair; Charlie looked out towards the horizon and kept his focus on that while taking another long hit of his bowl to calm his nerves but it only stood to make him more paranoid-if at all possible. "We adore one another. The motto and life I provide is a family they never had and a loyalty they have never known. That's the drawl here. We're all meant to be one." He explained, turning around to face her after a moment. "We do for eachother here. Everyone pulls their weight in this house-bringing things in someone else might need for us all to share. That's how we survive. It's more-like Robin Hood and his band of merry thieves." They took from others to give to one another, to give to the house though most of it all made it's way back to Charlie. None of them knew that and if they did, they were silenced. Most of them were too high and stupid to notice, too grateful for his taking them in.

"Wow," Blair said quietly. She slowly stood from her chair, looking down at the charismatic man who smoked away at his bowl, "I don't want to keep you any more... I should really go settle in," she said, needing a moment to breathe as Lena as it all became a reality. She was in the room with Charlie Manson and he was in control. It wasn't so much what he told her but she could _feel_ it. It was all around them. He had a vice grip on the house and it was not likely he would let go. It was clear that no one got anything past Charlie and Blair-no matter how beautiful she was, was no exception. "Don't worry about settling in. We set it all up for you in there. Now we have dinner outside. For tonight you won't have to do much but after this-you'll be expected to help with the chores and things like that around here. We don't slack for work when it comes to manual labor and house chores." He said quietly, that was another silent rule to make sure that the house stayed in line. No lies. Do chores. It was basically like living with your parents. "You'll like it here. Just like any other place, we have some unspoken rules. But we're a family and if that's what you're looking for then you'll find it here."

"All right, well, I make a mean eggplant parmesan," she said, knowing she was going to have to work her way up the ranks here like any other job only this time the stakes were much higher.


	3. Caught in the Web

By the week's end she began to find the flow of the house. She helped cook and clean without incident. It was rather interesting to see everyone work so well together. Every evening she shared a cigarette on the porch with a housemate named Alec. But this Saturday night, Alec was nowhere to be found. "Does he stay somewhere else sometimes?" she posed to Sadie as they sat out under the stars.

Sadie shifted uncomfortably.

Blair turned to face her, "What?" she asked, getting a sudden dark feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Uhm...Alec isn't around no more," Sadie said, looking at her housemate, touching her face lovingly.

"Did he leave?" she asked naively.

Sadie looked around, clearly afraid to say but surprised Blair hadn't inferred it yet, "You could say that, baby," she said, her voice quieting down as she caught sight of Charlie through the glass door.

"Did something happen to Alec, Sadie?" she asked, for the first time a tone of fear rang through her voice.

Alec had questions. Charlie didn't like questions. So Alec had to go away. He'd gone away-that was all Charlie had told them to say if anyone asked but most people outside of Blair weren't stupid enough to ask questions. If Charlie gave every newcomer the benefit of the doubt-he might have been caught by now and he wasn't too keen on being caught. Before Sadie could answer; Charlie appeared with a dark look in his eyes that shut Sadie up and had her snuffing out her cigarette. By the time Blair turned around; Sadie was gone and Charlie was smiling, a hand reaching out to touch over her hair affectionately. "You been an asset to the group here since you came around. I'd like to show you something, if you're ready." He said quietly, preparing to show her how she and Charlie would become one tonight if she would allow him to. He thought she would allow him anything as of now. He had her where he wanted her, even if he wasn't sure about her true origins. Anyone could be swayed to his liking. Having this house with so many loyal followers told him that.

Everything had changed so quickly, she had been talking to Sadie and now she had a bad feeling about Alec and then there was Charlie. "Okay," Blair nodded. This was good. Showing her something was good. That meant she was making her way into his sanctum and that's what Hodiak wanted and that's how she got home to Brian. With his hand Blair stood from the porch and followed him. She wanted to ask about Alec but could no longer find the right words for Charlie. If she asked him, did it seem like she was prying too much? But Alec had been a nice guy and if he was - dead - she was sure that was what Hodiak would want to know about. When she caught up with the department later in the week she would bring it up. "What is it?" she asked gently as they wove through the maze of the house. She had a feeling every member of the house knew what he was about to show her but she had no idea. Was it a great secret? Her stomach churned again as she felt no control in the situation.

It would be better for her safety not to ask about Alec. She'd seen what had gone on between Sadie and Charlie when he came out and Sadie got all quiet and shut up at his presence. Taking her into his room; Charlie shut the door and took her by the back of the neck, kissing her hard and passionate to show her what he had planned would be giving away all of his skills. Taking a hold of her hips; Charlie led her back to the bed but pulled back momentarily, "This is where we all become one. I've been waiting from the moment I saw you, to show you-how it feels to become one. But I was worried you might run off on me," He chuckled with that charming grin, that grin that would have any woman dropping her panties for him in a moment's breath.

Charlie was an overwhelming man. When he looked at you, you felt as if you'd do anything in the world just to have him smile at you. That you would do anything he told you to just to feel his praise. She was taken by surprise when he kissed her that the wind was knocked out of her. She gained some breath when he spoke to her and her mind hand gone blurry. _This was wrong!_ her mind told her. She was engaged. Happily, she might add, to one of the most wonderful men in the world. He was her everything and this... _this_... Brian didn't deserve this. But if she turned Charlie down now, and some parts of her did _not_ want to turn the grinning man down, she risked everything. "I-" she started, realizing the war going on her brain that muddled her words, "You...I didn't think you'd like me enough..." she admitted. She never thought this proposition would come up - not until it would be near time for her to leave. She wanted to be a fly on the wall...and this... "Charlie, I'm nervous..." she told him, looking into his deep brown eyes, wondering if she could escape them now. "I don't think I'm good enough yet..." she excused though she made no motion to push him away.

That was the point of his being their leader. He could do or say anything and they would still follow him blindly. His face changed slightly, not to anger but to sadness. He knew how to act to make someone feel guilty, to get what he wanted. At this stage, violence would do nothing but scare her off. "Hey," He sat down beside her and put a hand on her knee. "Look if you're not into this then maybe this ain't the place for you. No one would hold it against you. But I speak for myself when I say that I'm into you and that if I'm here then that means you're good enough to me." He said earnestly, he was so good at lying that he even believed himself. Manipulating was part of who he was. One of the central parts of who he was, rather. It almost made up all of who he was. Though he was made of a few deceiving acts and nothing more. He was a shell of a human who knew how to mimic the motions of others but never felt them in return. His big brown eyes were convincing though, they pulled you in like the tide.

She could hear it. Saying 'no' meant she was out. Meant she'd lasted a week in the operation and had nothing solid to give Hodiak. Saying 'yes' meant a betrayal to Brian but - could it be a betrayal if saying 'no' could put her life or job on the line? He would never have to know. She could lock the secret away in her heart and let it die there. And then she looked at him. Charlie. He was _so enticing_. And she wanted his brown eyes upon her at all times, or she felt _less than._ She didn't see it, but Lena was getting pulled right in with Blair but she wouldn't see it until it was too late. She touched his face gently. Her mind was already made up but her heart was slow to follow, "You take good care of people, Charlie," She said before leaning in and kissing him again, her fingers twisting his shaggy brown hair into her fingers. He felt so different from Brian. Brian was so soft from his eyes to his hair to his voice and Charlie was firm and sure and he was whatever you needed him to be. He was an enigma. "Take good care of me..." she asked, her lips still brushing against his. She had to keep pushing or she would panic and back out and that could very well be the end of her.

Brian would inevitably, be but it wasn't about Brian anymore, was it ? It never really had been. Now it was about Lena-Blair and Charlie. And right now Charlie was all she was focused on. "Don't you worry, little mama. I got my sights on you." Charlie drawled in his thick Southern accent, hands roaming her creamy thighs to part them and fall between her legs. He moved her skirts up around her hips and buried his face between her thighs to tease her through the material of her panties making them wet with his tongue over her clit while moving his hands over her legs to tease her and then brushing her panties aside to rub at her opening with a finger. He wanted her to be soaked before he even started. That was the plan.

Blair writhed beneath him. He was definitely nothing like Brian. Brian truly cared about her, _deeply_ cared about her but she could already tell the difference between the two men. She had to keep her mind off of Brian, or she'd blow everything. "Oh!" she gasped gently as he began to arouse her before he even took off his pants. She looked down at him, one hand gently brushing his shaggy brown hair aside, "C-Charlie," she started, "I- oh my...Mmmm," she groaned. He was going to make this an unforgettable night. She had been hoping for a rather quick - in and out - a moment or two and she could pretend he was Brian and assuage her guilt. But he was going to draw this out and he was going to make her _feel._ She caught sight of his eyes again. They were mesmerizing. By the time it was all over, Blair was a breathless, heaving heap of woman on the bed who took a hit when offered and fell asleep in a naked mess before she fell asleep before the guilt took her. She wasn't sure what made her guiltier: letting Charlie have sex with her or the fact that some part, some twisted part of her _enjoyed it._


End file.
